My house is never gonna be clean enough.

[Kage30]

I would consider myself a bit of a clean and tidy person generally, like a clean house but my house is far from a show home. I tidy as much as I can with 2 kids with sen, I hoover daily, mop daily, wash the bedding weekly. Bathroom cleaned regularly, laundry kept on top of, sides always wiped, dishes done etc. Clutter is a big trigger for me so try and keep it tidy, laundry away etc.

But I never have time to deep clean and feel guilty about it thinking my house isn't clean enough. Things like cleaning the skirting boards, pulling things out to vacuum underneath, windows etc? I don't dust as often as I should. My oven hasn't been cleaned in months. I need to hoover under the kids beds again as seems to be a hotspot for mess!!

I feel like I'm drowning. Once the basic things are done, I feel like I have little time to 'deep clean'. Wardrobes are a mess as both Dp and the kids just pull things out and drag everything else with it and dump it back in

I'm struggling to keep on top of all the things I would like to do.

Not really an aibu. Buy anyone else feel like this?! Where your house looks pretty clean but when you look in the corners and the skirting boards or in the cupboards it's not!

It takes a lot of effort to keep it at the standard it is.

I follow different cleaning accounts and some of the house look immaculate. Like every inch of the house is sparkling.

As well as that some people I know seem to have effortlessly clean houses. I'm always tidying of cleaning and it is still not clean.

Also, desperately need to decorate but no spare money and no spare time so that's not going to be happening any time soon. My kitchen is old and need a new one.

I just feel down amongst all the insta perfect houses.

I wish I could relax and not worry about it.

To add, I'm not working at the minute but with two kids with sen and a Dp working 12 hours a day, it's hard to find time to deep clean.

I've cleaned all day and just feel like it's not enough!

I stopped when you said you hoover and mop every day - way more often than I do!

I’m sure your house is perfectly clean, even on a bad day.

Surely you can miss out on a hoover/mop one day so that you have time to do one of the deep cleaning jobs. Obviously the house won't look quite as good on that day but the following day it will be back to normal plus you will have done an extra job.

The instagram accounts most follow are paid ads. For example, on Mrs Hinch's stories right at the moment, of course her cupboard is tidy, it's an ad for her range of storage baskets. Of course her mantelpiece is tidy, it's an ad for her own candle range. They are influencers. 2 hours to stage an instagram photo of their porch is their paid job.

I felt like this with a newborn and it isn't about the cleaning. It's about how I felt (and you feel) about the lack of control over your own time, your own environment. Unfortunately with 2 kids and a dad that works long hours it's control you probably need to relinquish for a few years.

I would recommend looking at The Organised Mum Method or similar. As a PP says - why mop 7 days a week when you can mop 4 times and use the other 3 slots to do something else.

1. Stop following cleaning accounts as they get paid for keeping their homes clean.
2. You know you can use a hoover attachment to get the dust of the skirting boards? You can hoover a lot of things e.g. sofas, chairs, lamps, if you have the right attachments but to be honest I tend to use 3 and have learnt to swap them quickly.

Stop,
Focus on clean enough to eat without Making yourselves ill
So long as your dc are not eating from the skirting boards then don't even look there except twice a year
Get a cleaner

I would stop thinking about this. and no way compare your home to other peoples homes. Just do things when you feel like doing them. If you are busy with children and have pets, etc there is always going to be dust and stuff around, and not much time to keep cleaning, unless you have an ocd issue about cleaning.

I vacuum about once a week and we have a dog too. Wipe skirting boards? Maybe once or twice a year.

I couldn’t give a flying fuck what anyone else thinks about the state of my house and neither should you about yours.

Focus on enjoying your life and find some new hobbies to immerse yourself in. Stop looking at these silly people on social media who are trying to make money by selling unnecessary products and guilt tripping vulnerable people like you.

I have a mix of wood or tiled floors downstairs. I vacuum them occasionally and mop them rarely. Can’t be arsed.

You say you feel guilty. About what? Genuine question. What terrible thing do you actually think is going to happen if your house isn't spotlessly clean?

Maybe try cleaning less and start doing a hobby you like. That would be my approach anyway.
But I don’t mop the floors daily and get the vacuum cleaner out about twice a week so I don’t think I can invite you to see my house.

Just relax! No one deep cleans all the time. My house suffers from all the faults you say yours does, but it is clean, tidy-ish, and no one walks in and recoils, so that's fine.

Plus stop following cleaning accounts. Why would you do that? Instagram isn't real, it's what people want you to see.

Come off Instagram. It's nonsense

@Whataboutno

My house is not as clean as yours sounds and it never will be until my kids leave home! There's just not enough hours in the day OP, don't make yourself feel bad about it as it's hard enough as it is!

^^ THIS.

You can choose any two of the following, but never all three:

A CLEAN HOUSE
HAPPY KIDS
YOUR SANITY

My mum had 4 kids, 3 with SEN. She never deep cleaned anything and guess what - nobody ever noticed or cared. She gave us a good childhood. She washed the clothes, cooked the food, picked any junk of the floor and loved us -> ok perhaps the skirting boards were skanky or perhaps there were cobwebs or limescale? I don't even remember because her number 1 priority was being our mum.

The homes on instagram are on there because they are gleaming and on trend. If that is the passion of that person, then crack on. But it is not the norm.

What is this 'pulling things out' you speak of? I've never done it. Nor do I intend to.

I follow different cleaning accounts and some of the house look immaculate. Like every inch of the house is sparkling

Three things.

One - stop following them. Comparison is the thief of joy.

Two - they are hardly going to post photos if the house is in a mess, are they?

Three - life's too bloody short to worry about skirting boards.

YABVU. Life is to short for this crap. Insta is NOT real life. I despise housework and Im not arsed about my house being dirty. Never washed a skirtingboard in my life. Stuff like oven/windows/cupboard cleaning done once a year. Guess what? We are fine.
If you have such anxiety about cleaning you should probably speak to your gp.

OP, I’m currently having a lovely sit-down in my (relatively) tidy sitting room – I never get it to the pre-kids tidy level because it’s wasted effort when the preschooler is just going to run riot – and I can see in the sun beams beneath the chair opposite the BIGGEST dust bunnies I’ve ever seen. Chunky tumbleweeds. I just can’t bring myself to prioritise them over sitting down. Lovely, lovely sitting down.

Yes the house looks nicer when I dust and vacuum it and sort out cupboards and generally blitz. But time is limited and I prefer sleep, reading, gardening, playing with DD, cooking, writing, hobbies, friends, DP. So I live in slight squalor: that’s a price I’m willing to pay!

OP i have NEVER hoovered and mopped daily even with a white kitchen floor, dogs and kids. You do not need to do as much as you are doing let alone deep cleans!!

You are me! I feel this everyday and I'm so depressed. I have 4 kids at home with DP and stupid hairy dog. I try to get kids to help but they're very resistant. DP is useless and any time I spend cleaning I turn round to see toddler has destroyed something behind me.

This is the time when people like Mrs.Hinch do more harm than good.How many of us have felt shite because we don't have an Instagram worthy clean home?

Some of my friends have messy cluttered houses with a thick layer of dust on the skirting boards etc;do I care;not one bit because we are real people with full and extremely busy lives.

FYI I've never gone into anyone's house to inspect their windows or under their beds.

Sounds like you're doing a wonderful job as it is ❤️

This is the time when people like Mrs.Hinch do more harm than good.

What good does Mrs Hinch do normally?!

Try team TOMM! The organized mum method.
Ditch Instagram lies.
You are doing amazing.

The clue us in the name - Influencer.
Their job is to make you buy all the products sponsoring them. Don't be gullible.